Old 11-29-12 | 09:56 AM
  #43  
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agent pombero
Mmm hm!
 
Joined: Oct 2012
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From: Portland, Oregon
Originally Posted by acidfast7
today I saw student who ran a red light getting a ticket from a cop on a motorcycle and I asked "how much" when I rode buy.

he shouted €180 and 6 points (same fine as a car.) cop said "not so inexpensive". the 6 points does suck as 18 points in 5 years and one has to do a mandatory medical and psychological assessment (MPA).

he won't be running any more lights any time soon.
Thankfully that won't happen here in the US (the medical psychological test). Certain cities in America points can be "earned" against your driving license, but since I don't drive this doesn't concern me at all. In Portland there are far too many cyclists to keep track of and ticket. As long as bicyclists know the major areas cops setup sting operations you'll be unseen by cops 99.99% of the time. Also, the way I see it, if I am caught running a red light and have to pay the $200 fine it won't bother me or be a huge expense.I don't drive, pay insurance, pay for parking, pay for car maintenance, or pay for gasoline; and so what is the big deal if I were to get a ticket once in a blue moon? I've been going through red lights and stop signs on a daily basis for 9 years since I've moved here and never once been ticketed. I treat these red lights and stop signs as yield signs and have been very successful at staying alive, not causing a single accident, and getting to my destinations faster than a car or public transit. I do come to complete stops and wait a full light cycle at three different intersections on my commute because it is 99% impossible to cross without a green light due to extremely heavy traffic. I know through route experience which I can go through safely and which ones I can't. The key here is don't get in the way of any cross traffic or pedestrian crossing because clearly they have the right away. But if there is 500 foot gap in cross traffic, why should I wait? I'm actually safer going through red lights and stop signs than waiting!

Last edited by agent pombero; 11-29-12 at 10:22 AM.
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